I'm so glad that Laura and Oliver are at the beginnings of a relationship. That's just fantastic. I really liked watching how they went from major passions of HATE to LOVE and the whole process in between. But I wanted to smack Percy this time. He needs to work on keeping the past as the past and see the future ahead! Because he just isn't going to get anywhere. He should just be happy that Oliver and Laura were able to work out their differences and so on. I'm glad he got back with Penelope though. Now everyone has someone! Wonderful chapter! Well...good luck on your exams coming up! I've got mine coming too, but I'm still in high-school so they're not as hard! I really hope you update soon! Don't leave this story! I need to know what happens. I'm officially hooked!

Author's Response: I'm glad that I got Laura and Oliver to a new point in their relationship. It's proving to be a bit difficult to write about them because I'm still testing out their relationship in my mind: trying to figure out how I want them to act around each other and whatnot.
I don't know if this comes through in the story or not, but I personally sympathize a bit with Percy. Not because I see myself as being like him or anything like that. Just because while writing this story, I kinda of see why Percy is the way he is in this fic. Percy is very future orriented, and it's kinda messing with his present.
Don't worry. I won't leave this story. However, I do doubt that I'll be able to update before school ends. Finals are very close, and while I don't think they'll be TOO hard (I'm taking pretty basic general education classes right now), they will take a lot of my time. But I will continue! Thanks for the review and stay tuned.

Reviewer: death2sparky Date: 05/02/05 18:49 Chapter: New Year's

Now that was a really nice chapter with the dancing and the socializing. But I must say, my favourite part was when Oliver commented on the name of his aunt's moving chair! SPARKY! Observe my name...yah...ooo...ooo...the irony! Well...it's not really ironic. Just a coincidence! But it was a really nice coincidence! Anyways...this chapter was really nice because you got to see more of the character's personalities. You got to see them function at a party outside of Hogwarts. And it was so nice of Oliver to invite her there. Wonderful job...again!

Author's Response: I love the furniture in this chapter. And it's cool that your name was in my fic. I always get excited when characters say "By Merlin's Beard!" in other people's fics. It definately was nice to write about the characters while they were outside of the school setting. Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the review.

hi
I really love your story and I know this is the first time I have reveiwed becos I haven't had time but I just really wanted to tell you that there is something about your fan fic which I really love, it's that when you first start to read it so much is unlear and at first that annoyed me but now it is the thing I love most about it. I love that as you read you learn about what happened. I shyed away from reading it when I just read the summary but now I am soooo glad I gave it a chance and read it cos I instantly loved it, and now it is definitely one of my all time favs. and thats saying something, cos unfortunatley I have read ALOT!! sad I no.... anyway please keep up dating I love your story!!!!!
Great job!!! 10/10
Rose

Author's Response: Thank you for reviewing. It was exciting to get a review for this chapter so quickly. (Chapter 10 was in the queue ofr a long time.) I can understand how the vagueness of the first chapter (and maybe a few chapters after that) could be annoying. I'm thrilled to hear that this ended up being what you enjoy the most about the story. As for the summary... I know it's not enthralling. I keep trying to think of a summary that captures more people's attention. Obviously I haven't succeeded yet. Thanks for giving the story a chance, and thanks for the support. Keep reading. :)

Reviewer: death2sparky Date: 04/30/05 14:55 Chapter: Fears of Fate

Oh my gosh...I can't believe I forgot to mention the sweater! That is such a cool sweater! And you are making it? So neat...

Author's Response: I already made it. I wear it around campus sometimes. I must say I'm quite proud of it. ;)

Reviewer: death2sparky Date: 04/30/05 14:51 Chapter: Fears of Fate

Now that was a really nice chapter. It was pretty calm and nice and written incredibly well. You were right. It's more of a transition chapter...and it was excellent. It was so nice to see that Oliver and Laura are actually starting to talk rather than well things to each other from other sides of the room. They are really cute and it's nice to see a fic where the relationship is pregeressing slowly and the readers are actually able to see everything that's going on and expirience all their thoughts. I don't know if all that came across okay and the way I meant it. It also helps that your chapters are quite a bit longer than most fics I've read out there! :) Every chapter is like a new little adventure and doesn't cut you off in the middle of an angsty situation. Thanks for the no cliffhangers! Lol! The part when Luara was talking to Hagrid was really really well done. In fact the whole chapter was really well done, but that part in particular caught me more because of how he was telling her that hate is such a strong word. Of course she doesn't hate Oliver! No one can...lol...but she certainly can't! And the part in the end when they were going to be late for the curfew. Yes...a nice awkward situation on the broom stick! Ooo...she grabbed onto him in fright. If only she hadn't let go! ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD! Haha...but that was a very enjoyable part. And so was the next part where they were trying to guess what their frights and colours were. It was very cute...and rather unique. All in all...I loved this chapter! I'm becoming a very big fan of the Laura/Oliver ship. [I've actually read ahead already...but I'm reading the chapters again! So I know what happens in chapter 9! Complete BLISS!] I was actually wondering if in my profile page [which I will eventually write!] I could say that they are one of my favs! I just wnated to ask since Laura is your OC character! Anyways...I've got to stop rambling now! I hope you like my review! I can't believe no one reviewed for this chapter before! That's just wrong!

Author's Response: I'm glad you liked this chapter. It's not one of my favorite chapters, probably because it's hard to write Hagrid's dialect. I really like the mirror shop, myself. And if Laura/Oliver is becoming one of your favorite ships, then by all means list it as one. Perhaps it will point a few more people to this story. ;) As always, thanks very much for the review.

Everything is just progressing so smoothly...it's nice to see people are really starting to talk, even if that means they still arn't going anywhere in particular. Percy and Laura seem to be on good terms again, but Oliver and everyone else? I think that side of the problem needs alittle bit of work...hehe! Hopefully he will see what is standing before him soon! Laura does need a friend after all...and so does Oliver. Put two and two together...and VOILA! Haha. Anyways...I think my favourite parts were, again, when they were fighting. You do a very good job at their arguements and it is fun to see each side, as you said! By the way...thanks for the thanks! It's always nice to know your input is appreciated! I really like this story...IT'S GREAT!

Author's Response: Oh, everyone's input is definately appreciated. Just hearing from people that they are reading the story makes me happy. I like hearing what you're thinking after each chapter, too. It's fun reading people's comments about what should happen while I know what does happen. And as for the fights... definately the worst part about making your characters get past their disagreements is not being able to write the fights anymore. Not that there isn't plenty of conflict between characters coming up. ;) So thanks again for the feedback.

Reviewer: death2sparky Date: 04/28/05 13:55 Chapter: The Truth is but a Vision

That was a really good chapter. So many more things are understandable now. It's kind of sad that they lost all of those years of friendship over such a small thing. I hope they can start again, but Oliver doesn't seem to willing at the moment. He needs a good smack...like a wake up call. I definetly like Laura alot more after reading this chapter. She does seem alot stronger than the impression I got in the first chapter. The part in the Forbidden Forest was really funny with them trying to scare each other and running away. Great job...

Author's Response: Haha. Fortunately Oliver doesn't need to be hurt physically for his "wake up calls." Or perhaps I should say that, fortunately, Laura isn't a physically abusive person. I like the Forbidden Forest part, too. I love writing out fights between characters. It's fun coming up with both sides of the argument. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story and thanks for the review.

Wow...that was really good...just a tad bit confusing...but good. It's good that you put that last bit in the author's notes about the conflicts. It did really help clear things up. It think the confusion was just mainly there are just so many OC characters at one time....that it's like BAM! But that's only to be expected when the seventh years in the third book arn't really lined up. But you did a really good job with all the characters personalitles. But Laura seems just a bit too...I don't know...not pathetic...but...maybe she was just hit too hard by the death of Dan...she's really quiet. I really like her though. She's pretty complex. I hope she enventually gets with Wood. He is really awesome and there arn't too many stories with him. Anyways...great chapter...and wonderful writing...

Author's Response: Thank you for the review. I love all reviews, but especially the ones with some criticism. People have been saying that the first chapter is slightly confusing, and I think part of the reason for the confusion is that the first chapter is very vague while dealing with the Second Year Fight. (I wanted people to see the hatred between certain characters before showing the readers that the REASON for this hatred is based on a stupid fight.) Now I see that the large number of original characters who are introduced in the first chapter definately may cause some confusion. (Potential readers: Don't let that stop you from reading! I think the Gryffindor girls' personalities are different enough that they should be easier to keep track of in the next few chapters.) I'm thrilled that you think the main character is already complex. My main goal for this story: to make sure that Laura stays as far away from Mary Sue-ism as I can keep her. Keep reading and reviewing. (I'll respond to every one. ;) ) Your comments are very helpful.

so. for the past couple of days, i've been reading your story. i've never been entertained by a wood story. congrats! you have entertained me. that is a very difficult thing to do. but you did it. good job. this is a great story. very original and different. i hope you update soon. and great job!!

Author's Response: Thank you very much for the review! I haven't read any other Wood stories in a fairly long time (to avoid messing up my own characterization of him), but I do read the summaries of these stories. Most of them seem to be different in their own ways. I'm glad you decided to read this story despite the fact that you don't seem to enjoy Oliver stories very often. Glad I could entertain you. Keep reading. :)

Great chapter... finally some romance, and you pulled it off well. 9/10.

Author's Response: I'm very relieved that this chapter is going over well. I'm happy with how the chapter went, but I wasn't sure how other people would respond. I, for one, am very critical of how characters finally get together in stories such as this. So I'm thrilled that you liked it. Thanks for reviewing.

Hey, there were sparks at the beginning of this chapter, at the window! And then you just insert that sixth year girl! How dare you! Where'd she come from anyway! Oliver was nearly touching her cheek at the window the day before!!! Maybe I guess it was because she promised Oliver that she would always be his friend and he was like, oh there's no chance with her. AAAHHH!!! The good times are killing me!

I'm feeling courteous - mostly because you have 8 chapters and only 9 reviews... I wonder how long after you submit does it take for them to accept/decline your chapter? Curious because I'm having trouble... thanks. P.S. I have finally gotten the mods to read 3 out of 4 stories that were in the queue for 4 days. If you want to can check them out- except for one they're all one-shots. The non-one-shot is a Muggle/Tonks story. ~Toodles~

Author's Response: It takes anywhere from less than a day (rarely) to several days for them to post my fics. It seems to take longer for first chapters to go up than for added chapters. I'm not sure why. Four days sounds like about how long it took for my chapter of Truly Unspeakable to be posted.

Author's Response: And the small amount of reviews for my story doesn't bother me too much. Of course, I would still love to hear from more people. However, I read too much into the number of reads, and they seem to tell me that a fair amount of people like the story well enough to keep reading. That's really all that I care about: that people are reading the story. I would continue writing the story even if only one person was interested in reading it. Honestly. So having only 9 (10 now) reviews doesn't really bother me. I'm still going to beg for reviews at the end of every chapter. ;)

Great chapter - I don't think your theory is correct, but I really thought it was pulled off well in your story. After all, it is fanFICTION - we can make things up. And that room of Snitches was a brilliant idea! This chapter wasn't too vague for moi! Laura and Oli need to kiss! Come on! Victory kiss for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!

Author's Response: I'm pretty sure the theory isn't RIGHT, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. I think this part of the story is my favorite because of the Snitches room. I'm glad you liked the chapter as well. Thanks for your reviews.

I can completely understand why 5 and 6 couldn't be combined, but you broke in a good place. How cool is that party? Obviously cool enough for two chapters. Can I come? I want to tell you again how good you are at conveying the emotions of all the characters even though it's all told through Laura's perspective. It will be interesting to see how Percy and Penelope's break-up will affect Laura, Oliver, etc.

Author's Response: Absolutely you can come. There's a party every year. ;) Thank you for your reviews. Keep reading.

This chapter was really good. I'm excitedly waiting for the next one. It's agonizing torture to keep waiting for Laura and Oliver to get together, but I like it that way. It makes the moment when they do so much more rewarding. I can't stand when the story is all like "and now they're in love" - so boring...

Author's Response: Haha. I agree. If it helps, it was torture writing this story, knowing what would eventually happen but needing to advance the relationship from hate to love so that the story would be more believable.

This is the first story in ages that I have loved. it is perfect - the only thing that somewhat bothers me is that hagrid seems a bit OOC, or at least his dialog is. 9/10. P.S. I would really like it if you'd check out my stories - I have two. Just look in my bio. Thanks! You are an awesome writer!

Author's Response: Thank you. That means a lot to me. On the subject of Hagrid, you are absolutely right that his dialog is OOC. Like I said in the first Author's Note, I thought about it and decided that Hagrid would still be more believable if I tried (and failed) at writing his dialect than if I were to write his dialect in standard English. Perhaps I'll go back and see if I can improve it when I have more time. Thanks for your review.

Okay, if you have this story written, upload it!!! Okay, but seriously, I'm already having withdrawl. When are Laura and Oliver going to get together?! Okay, I understand that you do have to actually develop the relationship. Obviously I like this story. But I promise to not kill you until you add more.

Author's Response: A lot of the story is written, but not proofread. That's why it takes me a few days to upload each chapter. The next chapter is going into the queue today (4-11-05). I'm very glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing.

I am really liking this story! I think you're able to capture extremely well the tension and anger - not a lot of writers can do that. I'm hoping that things will get better for Laura though. Being miserable sucks. But your story definitely doesn't.

Author's Response: I'm glad you think that the characters' feelings are coming through, especially since their feelings are a major part of the plot. And don't worry. Things start getting better for Laura soon.